Can Abercrombie And Fitch Please Stop Being So Annoying?

I remember the good ole’ middle school days when my pre-pubescent body could fit into Abercrombie and Fitch clothing. Now that I am fully grown and proportionally sized (and healthy, might I add), I would never step foot in an A&F. That is unless, I am in the mood to feel like an overweight cow.

The gigantic clothing empire has been known for taking heat for catering their clothing specifically to “skinny” and “good-looking” people but just recently a statement has been released by a former employee talking about how she felt pressure to maintain a certain size. She wrote:

“I squeezed myself into the second-largest A&F women’s size available — and 8 — and dieted to stay that size. It terrified me to know that if I gained weight and sized out their women’s clothes, I’d have to wear ill-fitting men’s T-Shirts and sweatshirts to work every day, as I’d seen other ‘large’ women do.”

Now this statement bothers me for two reasons. First, how much hate does Abercrombie have to receive before they start catering to normal-sized people? Secondly, I feel like the might sell a lot more clothing if they focused on a body empowerment campaign instead of a “try to starve yourself to look like a model” campaign.

I think the controversial retail store could learn a few lessons from me, don’t cha think?

In an interview with Salon, CEO Michael Jefferies talked about his his goal by stating “It’s almost everything. That’s why we hire good-looking people in our stores. Because good-looking people attract other good-looking people, and we want to market to cool, good-looking people. We don’t market to anyone other than that,”

If that statement doesn’t make you stop shopping at A&F, I don’t know what will. Also, I don’t think Jefferies would hire himself. I mean, have you seen the guy? Bottom line, this guy is an asshole and his company should seriously consider a re-brand.